Puss in Boots

Tonight, I went and saw “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.” Before I talk about that, I should let everyone know what I thought about the first “Puss in Boots,” released in 2011.

Craig D. Lindsey started his review by saying, “I initially came into Puss in Boots not expecting much, but I still was a bit worried. Although DreamWorks Animation was on my bad list for a long time, these last few years have seen a marked improvement, with decent animated flicks like the Kung Fu Panda movies and How to Train Your Dragon. I didn't want to see them backtrack with another vacuous, pop-reference fest starring one of the characters from the Shrek movies.”

Lindsey continued, “I was relieved to find Puss in Boots to be entertaining even though, much like the Shrek movies before it, its anarchic, anachronistic attitude can be off-putting.” The movie is basically an origin story for the protagonist, voiced by Antonio Banderas, a man who can’t turn off the coolness even when you don’t see his face. The sword-wielding cat outlaw became a member of the Shrek characters in the second movie, not to mention the only character in that whole franchise who didn’t become a huge pain in the neck in later sequels.

“Puss in Boots” is a weird combination of fairytale folklore and spaghetti Western, as Puss teams back up with former-blood-brother-turned-arch-enemy Humpty Dumpty (Zack Galifianakis) in an effort to steal magic beans from murderous criminals Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris). This is so they can plant the beans, which grow into a giant beanstalk going to a castle in the sky which has a goose who lays golden eggs.

Lindsey noted, “Needless to say, Puss in Boots has its insouciant tongue planted in its cheek.” The movie is practically an animated version of the “Desperado” movies Banderas did with Robert Rodriguez. Banders even reunited with Salma Hayek, who was his love interest in those movies, as she voices a cat bandit who helps Puss and Humpty Dumpty in their effort.

Lindsey admitted, “Puss in Boots may not achieve the same level of sophisticated, introspective storytelling that Kung Fu Panda 2 wowed me with earlier this year, but it doesn't rely on annoying pop references or scenes of shameless schmaltz.” Credit might be given to executive producer Guillermo del Toro, who also did consulting work on the second “Kung Fu Panda” movie. “Puss in Boots” keeps its narrative and visuals fresh and intriguing, even when you find yourself thinking, “Wait a minute, I’m being entertained by a movie about a talking, sword-fighting cat!”

Now let’s talk about the sequel, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” which came out nine days ago.

The sword-fighting cat spun off from the Shrek franchise makes a very successful comeback in this epic fantasy adventure from DreamWorks Animation (the fifth film featuring this character). It looks like this animated film has a chance at an Oscar this year.

Puss in Boots is a fearless fighter, and the film starts with him defeating a giant opponent. Part of the reason he is fearless is that he has nine lives. A series of reckless accidents and misadventures over the years, leaves him with just one life remaining, and this shows his primary fear, a fear he never had to face before.

Death comes to him in the form of the Big Bad Wolf (Wagner Moura), and Puss runs away, looking for hiding to a cat lady (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) who takes in numerous stray cats. There, proud Puss suffers the shame of wearing little cat mittens on his paws and eating cat food from a sort of feeding trough. However, he makes friends with a small, persistently upbeat dog, Perrito, voiced by Harvey Guilén, who is pretending to be a cat in order to eat.

Robert Roten said in his review, “It appears that Puss in Boot's adventurous personality is slipping away as he settles in to a safe, monotonous life.” Suddenly, three bears (Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, and Samson Kayo) and Goldilocks (Florence Pugh) break into the house, looking for him. They don’t recognize him, but when he overhears what they are after, he gets back into gear, ready for a new adventure.

What they are looking for is a magic map which leads to a place in a dangerous dark forest where a magical Wishing Star can grant a single wish. Puss wants to use this wish to get his nine lives back. He and Perrito go to search for the map. Along the way, they meet up with an old friend, master thief Kitty Softpaws, who is also after the map.

Puss and Kitty Soft Paws steal the map from Big Jack Horner, voiced by John Mulaney, a collector who hired Goldilocks and the Bears to get the map. Puss, Kitty, and Perrito go with the map, with Goldilocks, the bears and Jack Horner close behind. Jack Horner brings along a whole bag of magical objects from such stories like Pinocchio and Alice in Wonderland that he has collected to help him with his quest. Jack raises one of the spells, causing Jiminy Cricket, voiced by Kevin McCann (sounding like he is doing a Jimmy Stewart impression), to appear. Jiminy’s moral advice is ignored by Jack, but Jiminy eventually gets the last word.

When they enter the magic forest, Pussy and Kitty each see a different, dark and dangerous path rejoiced to them by the magic map. However, Perrito, having a gentle nature, sees an easier way to the Wishing Star. Goldilocks and the bears, along with Jack Horner all end up in a huge fight for the Wishing Star. In the end, the quest and fight reveal the true nature of each of these characters, for good or evil, generosity, or selfishness. Therein lies the moral of the story.

This year, there have not been many top notch animated film, unlike 2021, when there were more excellent animated films. Roten said, “It looks to me like this movie is one the top five best animated films I've seen this year (along with “Turning Red,” “Pinocchio,” “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” and “The Bad Guys”).” It should get an Academy Award nomination.

As a spinoff to the Shrek franchise, these are very good movies. The first one was really enjoyable and I know that the sequel was in talks for years. Finally, when they had announced the sequel, the pandemic delayed everything. Now we finally got it in time before the holidays, and it is actually better. The animation is on the same level as the Spider-Verse movie. If you saw the first one and loved it, see the sequel. You will enjoy it. However, I would highly recommend everyone to see the first movie before going to the theater to see the sequel. See it if you like the Shrek franchise.

Thank you for joining in on my review tonight. Stay tuned tomorrow for the finale of “Disney Month 2022.”